PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday suspended its routine agenda to debate the worsening law and order situation in Bannu, with treasury and opposition members trading charges over operations, internet shutdowns, and the role of the state institutions in the district.
Speaker Babar Saleem Swati allowed the debate after a vote, despite opposition from Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam, who argued against suspending the regular agenda.
Opening the discussion, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Member Provincial Assembly Adnan Khan said Bannu was currently “in the grip of an operation” and that the situation had not improved despite two and a half years of debate in the House on peace and security.
He alleged that internet and mobile services in Bannu remained suspended, roads were blocked, and people were being denied access to the bodies of their relatives. “Elected representatives are also not being taken into confidence about what is happening,” he said.
Adnan Khan alleged that it was not the provincial government but a “uniformed government” running affairs in Bannu.
“If the government does not have the capacity to handle the situation, it should resign,” he said, adding that highways were being closed in broad daylight and people were living in fear.
He accused institutions funded by public taxes of besieging people’s homes and blocking roads instead of providing security.
“Public trust in the government has eroded. Decisions of the Apex Committee are also not being made public,” he said.
The lawmaker demanded that any operation causing hardship for civilians should not be accepted and called for decisions taken “behind closed doors” to be made public.
Provincial Minister Shakeel Khan responded that terrorism could not be defeated by targeting only the government. “We have to get out of the blame game,” he said.
He linked militancy to policies dating back to General Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law era and alleged that terrorists and the establishment are two sides of the same coin.
Proposing a joint course of action, Shakeel Khan suggested that all political parties in the province, along with their leadership, should travel to Islamabad and stage a sit-in outside Parliament, the Supreme Court, and GHQ.
He maintained that the police had the capacity to handle the situation and questioned why militants were said to be visible in Afghanistan but were not being identified in Lakki Marwat and Bannu.
MPA Humayun Khan informed the House about a “failed” operation in his constituency on July 15 and said that 40 to 50 personnel had been sent to a dangerous area under the supervision of Investigation Officer Shah Faisal without proper equipment. He said three police officials were martyred and several others injured in the clash with militants.
He added that the injured and martyred personnel remained at the site for five hours without timely rescue or adequate food and water.
The legislator demanded a high-level inquiry into what he described as the failed operation and called for accountability for those responsible.
Humayun Khan criticized the alleged calls by the district police officer for locals to form lashkars. “The police force is the state’s lashkar. It is not appropriate to push citizens into war,” he said.
MPA Shafiullah highlighted the problems faced by overseas Pakistanis, saying they sent billions of dollars in remittances but had to endure long queues and unnecessary documentation requirements at Pakistani diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia. He urged the government to resolve these issues urgently.
The lawmaker called for the appointment of Pakhtun district police officers familiar with the local geography to make counterterrorism operations more effective.
MPA Ajab Khan said those running the country had failed to fulfill their responsibilities. In a sarcastic remark, he said that the country should be handed over to a company that could deliver if the current system could not run it effectively.
